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April 24, 2013

Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake

Boy, do I have a recipe for you today!

I have simplified making chicken cordon bleu and created this amazing recipe. It does take a while to bake, but it involves very little hands-on time, which makes it easy enough for a weeknight, in my opinion. You could even prepare the chicken layers and sauce in the morning. Then combine the two after work and throw in the oven.

The flavor is outstanding and it still has all of those layers and textures you love about regular chicken cordon bleu, but will only take you a fraction of the time to prepare.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken breasts in a greased 9x9-inch baking pan. Season with lemon pepper and Mrs. Dash. Top each chicken breast with one slice of ham, then swiss cheese (as much as you like), then two slices of ham each, more swiss cheese and last with one more slice of ham. In a separate bowl, combine cream of chicken soup, milk, black pepper and Italian seasoning. Pour over chicken breasts, being careful so the ham and cheese doesn't slide off of the chicken. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 40-60 minutes or until chicken registers 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from oven and top each chicken breast with crushed croutons. Return to oven, uncovered, for 5 more minutes to slightly toast the croutons. Remove from oven and serve over wild rice or brown rice. Spoon sauce over the top for serving. Yield: 2 servings. Jenn's Notes: If you don't want thick chicken breasts, you could always butterfly the breasts (cut in half horizontally) and bake in a 9x13-inch pan. The baking time will depend on if your chicken breasts are thawed or frozen.

I love the flavor Mrs. Dash adds, but you can always leave it out completely and it will still be delicious. I'm not sure what you could substitute it with, because it's a mixture of all kinds of seasonings, but if you have another seasoning you really like, I'm sure you could add it and it would be delicious (poultry seasoning, garlic powder, parsley, onion powder or anything similar).